With their sights set on making it to the knockout stage as soon as possible, Barcelona will host BATE Borisov this Wednesday, aiming to increase their amount of goals even if their superstar is not available. The team from Belarus will try to shock the world by stealing at least one point from Camp Nou Stadium. Nevertheless, having only won one away game in 13 Champions League matches, their chances of defeating the Spanish giants are rather slim.
FC Barcelona
Los Blaugranas have managed to stay afloat even without Lionel Messi for the past four weeks. In fact, Luis Enrique's side has only lost one game during the Argentine's absence, scoring fifteen goals in seven games. Neymar and Luis Suárez have carried the team's weight, with the Brazilian striker topping the goal scoring charts of La Liga with nine goals, while Suárez has netted the ball eight times in the last seven games.
Neymar (now 199) is one goal away from his 200th club goal #fcblive Santos 136, Barcelona 63 [via #barcastat]
— barcastuff (@barcastuff) November 4, 2015
Added to Messi's absence, the Blaugrana side will not have Rafinha and Douglas available, although captain Andrés Iniesta might recover his place in Luis Enrique's lineup, after coming back from an injury during Matchday 2 of the competition.
BATE Borisov
The team from Belarus will try to boost its confidence after winning a tenth straight domestic title two weeks ago, while aiming for their second Champions League away win in the club's history. Aleksandr Yermacovich's side will most likely have to make due without Aleksandr Hleb, the former Blaugrana player, and one of the most experienced performers in the Belarusian team.
In order to stand a chance against Los Blaugranas, BATE will have to improve their defense. During their two most recent away games in the competition, including qualifiers, BATE has conceded six goals while only scoring twice, making it harder for them to accomplish a satisfying result. Although their chances of progression are slim, the team from Belarus could still make it to the UEFA Europa League, if they can hold on to the third place in Group E ahead of Roma and one point behind Bayer Leverkusen.
Head to head
These teams have played against each other three times, and Barcelona has won them all with ease. Their first two meetings took place back in the 2011/2012 CL edition, with Los Blaugranas destroying the competition 5-0 in Minsk and 4-0 at Camp Nou. During Matchday 3, Ivan Rakitic's brace helped Luis Enrique's side to earn three more points, making it the third straight game for them without conceding a goal against the Belarusian champions.
Last matchday's hero is ready for Wednesday's clash.
Listo para otro partido de Champions! Ready for another Champions League match! #VamosBarça pic.twitter.com/IiwXjPp0wN
— Ivan Rakitic (@ivanrakitic) November 3, 2015
Team sheets for FC Barcelona vs BATE Borisov
FC Barcelona's Starting XI: Ter Stegen, Alves, Vermaelen, Mascherano, Adriano; Busquets, Rakitic, Roberto; Iniesta, Neymar, Suárez.
BATE Borisov's Starting XI: Chernik, Gaiduchik, Milunović, Mladenović, Polyakov, Yablonski, A. Volodko, Stasevich, M. Volodko, Mozolevski, Gordeichuk.
FC Barcelona's bench: Bravo, Piqué, Bartra, Munir, Alba, Sandro, Gumbau.
BATE Borisov's bench: Soroko, Dubra, Karnitski, Nikolić, Rios, Hleb, A. Jevtić
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